志异 Draft by Drama box July 2014 (english) | Page 26

were extremely alarmed by this
frequent occurrence. If we look
at this period in history from the
tiger’s perspective, the trading port
had an ample human population
(food source) and these soft fleshy
mammals (humans) could only
move on two legs, were slow to
react (could not sense the tiger
approaching), could not run fast
(even a dog ran faster) and could
not climb well (unlike monkeys). This
should have made them delectable
and easy prey (unlike pangolins
with their scales, monitor lizards
with tough leathery skins and
tortoises with hard shells).
But in the nearly two centuries that
have passed, it is the wild tigers of
the Malay Peninsula that are on the
brink of extinction. The rainforests
have been destroyed and replaced
by an endless stretch of rubber
plantations and the featureless
expanse of oil palms. The surviving
wild tigers live a miserable life in
perpetual fear of being hunted.
By now, they hesitate to attack
even the Malaysians, much less
the Singaporeans. If tigers had
grandparents to tell them stories,
they would surely hear about the
glorious accounts of their ancestors
swimming across the straits to feast
column one – ng kim chew

on humans in Singapore. Their
descendants, pale shadows of their
once mighty selves, would probably
think that this was pure fantasy.
Ng Kim Chew was born in the Malaysian
state of Johor in 1967, with origins
in Nan’an in the Fujian province of
China. In 1987, he left Malaysia
for further studies in Taiwan and
graduated from the Chinese language
and literature department of the
National Taiwan University. He
subsequently obtained his master’s
degree in Chinese language and
literature from Tamkang University and
a doctorate degree in Chinese from
the National Tsing-Hwa University. He
has been teaching at the department
of Chinese language and literature
at the National Chi Nan University
since 1996 and has been the recipient
of various literary awards such as
the ‘China Times Literary Award’.
He has also authored various works
including《夢與豬與黎明》(Dreams,
Pigs and Dawn) (Jiuge Publishing

House, 1994), 《刻背》(Carving on the
Back) (Rye Field, 2001), and《南洋

人民共和國備忘錄》(Memorandum of the
Nanyang People’s Republic) (Linking
Publishing, 2013). He has also edited

various essay volumes including《馬

華文學與中國性》(Malaysian Chinese

Literature and Chineseness)(Yuan Zun,
1998),《謊言與真理的技藝》(The Craft

of Falsehood or the Craft of Truth)
(Rye Field, 2003)

and《文與魂與體》

(Textuality, Soul, and Body)
(Rye Field, 2006).
translated by LU CAIXIA

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